教学素材 | 人脸识别无处不在:你的脸安全吗?
人脸识别无处不在:你的脸安全吗?How safe is your face? The pros and cons of having facial recognition everywhere难度:六级 刘立军供稿Walk into a shop, board a plane, log into your bank, or scroll through your social media feed, and chances are you might be asked to scan your face. Facial recognition and other kinds of face-based biometric technology are becoming an increasingly common form of identification. 走进商店、登机、登录银行账户,甚至刷社交媒体时,你很可能都会被要求进行人脸扫描。人脸识别及其他基于人脸的生物识别技术正日益成为一种常见的身份验证方式。The technology is promoted as quick, convenient and secure — but at the same time it has raised alarm over privacy violations. For instance, major retailers such as Kmart have been found to have broken the law by using the technology without customer consent. 在宣传中,这项技术快速、便捷且安全,但同时,它也引发了人们对隐私侵犯的担忧。例如,像Kmart这样的大型零售商就被发现未经顾客同意便使用了该技术,已构成违法。So are we seeing a dangerous technological overreach or the future of security? And what does it mean for families, especially when even children are expected to prove their identity with nothing more than their face? 那么,我们面对的究竟是危险的技术越界,还是安全的未来?这对家庭——尤其是当连儿童都被要求仅凭一张脸来证明自己的身份时——意味着什么?Facial recognition tech is marketed as the height of seamless convenience. Nowhere is this clearer than in the travel industry, where airlines such as Qantas tout facial recognition as the key to a smoother journey. Forget fumbling for passports and boarding passes — just scan your face and you’re away. 人脸识别技术号称提供了最极致的便利体验。这一点在航空旅行领域体现得尤为明显。例如,澳洲航空(Qantas)将人脸识别宣传为打造更“丝滑”旅程的关键:无需再手忙脚乱地翻找护照和登机牌,只需扫一下脸,即可通行。In contrast, when big retailers such as Kmart and Bunnings were found to be scanning customers’ faces without permission, regulators stepped in and the backlash was swift. Here, the same technology is not seen as a convenience but as a serious breach of trust. 然而,当Kmart和Bunnings等大型零售商被发现未经许可扫描顾客面部时,监管机构迅速介入,公众也对此表示强烈反对。在这里,同样的技术不再被视为便利,而是一种严重的信任背叛。Things get even murkier when it comes to children. Due to new government legislation, social media platforms may well introduce face-based age verification technology, framing it as a way to keep kids safe online. 涉及儿童时,情况变得更加复杂。根据新出台的政府法规,社交媒体平台很可能会引入基于人脸的年龄验证技术,并将其标榜为保护儿童安全上网的手段。At the same time, schools are trialing facial recognition for everything from classroom entry to paying in the cafeteria. 同时,一些学校正在试点将人脸识别用于教室门禁和食堂支付等各种场景。Yet concerns about data misuse remain. In one incident, Microsoft was accused of mishandling children’s biometric data. 然而,人们对数据滥用的担忧依然存在。例如,微软就曾被指控不当处理儿童的生物识别数据。For children, facial recognition is quietly becoming the default, despite very real risks. 对儿童而言,尽管风险真实存在,人脸识别却正悄然成为默认选项。Facial recognition technology works by mapping someone’s unique features and comparing them against a database of stored faces. Unlike passive CCTV cameras, it doesn’t just record, it actively identifies and categorizes people. 人脸识别技术通过绘制个人独特的面部特征,并与数据库中存储的人脸进行比对来运作。与被动记录的监控摄像头不同,它不仅能记录,还能主动识别人群并进行分类。Facial recognition may be on a path of rapid adoption. However, there is a crucial concern: where a QR code can be removed or an account deleted, your face cannot. 人脸识别可能正走上快速普及之路。但关键隐患在于:二维码可以删除,账户可以注销,而你的脸却无法更换。Permanence is a big issue for facial recognition. Once your — or your child’s — facial scan is stored, it can stay in a database forever. 永久性是人脸识别的一大问题。一旦你或你孩子的面部扫描数据被存入数据库,就可能永远留在那里。If the database is hacked, that identity is compromised. In a world where banks and tech platforms may increasingly rely on facial recognition for access, the stakes are very high. 如果数据库遭黑客入侵,这种身份信息就会遭到泄露。在这个银行和科技平台越来越依赖人脸识别进行身份验证的世界里,后果不堪设想。What’s more, the technology is not foolproof. Mis-identifying people is a real problem. 此外,这项技术并非万无一失,误识他人是一个真实存在的问题。Age-estimating systems are also often inaccurate. One 17-year-old might easily be classified as a child, while another passes as an adult. This may restrict their access to information or place them in the wrong digital space. 年龄估算系统也常常不准确。一名17岁青少年可能被轻易地归类为儿童,而另一名却可能被判定为成年人。这可能导致他们被限制访问某些信息,或被错误地置于不合适的数字化环境中。These risks aren’t just hypothetical. They already affect lives. Imagine being wrongly placed on a watchlist because of a facial recognition error, leading to delays and interrogations every time you travel. 这些风险并非只是假设,它们已经切实影响人们的生活。试想:若你因人脸识别出错而被错误列入监控名单,每次出行,你都可能遭遇各种延误和盘查。Or consider how stolen facial data could be used for identity theft, with perpetrators gaining access to accounts and services. 再想想被盗取的面部数据如何被用于身份盗用——不法分子借此获取对各类账户和服务的访问权限。In the future, your face could even influence insurance or loan approvals, with algorithms drawing conclusions about your health or reliability based on photo or video. 未来,你的面部特征甚至可能影响保险或贷款审批——算法可能仅凭照片或视频就对你的健康状况或可信度做出推断。Facial recognition does have some clear benefits, such as helping law enforcement identify suspects quickly in crowded spaces and providing convenient access to secure areas. 人脸识别确实也有一些明确的优势,比如帮助执法部门在拥挤场所快速锁定嫌疑人,或为进入安全区域提供便捷通道。But for children, the risks of misuse and error stretch across a lifetime. 但对儿童而言,误用和人脸识别错误所带来的风险可能伴随其一生。As it stands, facial recognition would seem to carry more risks than rewards. In a world rife with scams and hacks, we can replace a stolen passport or drivers’ license, but we can’t change our face. 就目前而言,人脸识别似乎弊大于利。在这个诈骗和黑客攻击频发的时代,我们可以补办被盗的护照或驾照,却无法更换自己的脸。The question we need to answer is where we draw the line between reckless implementation and mandatory use. Are we prepared to accept the consequences of the rapid adoption of this technology?我们必须回答的问题是:在鲁莽实施与强制使用之间,我们应当如何划定界限?我们是否已准备好承担这项技术快速普及所带来的后果?Security and convenience are important, but they are not the only values at stake. Until robust, enforceable rules around safety, privacy and fairness are firmly established, we should proceed with caution. 安全与便利固然重要,但并非唯一需要考量的价值。在安全、隐私与公平方面健全且可执行的规范尚未确立之前,我们应谨慎行事。So next time you’re asked to scan your face, don’t just accept it blindly. Ask: why is this necessary? And do the benefits truly outweigh the risks — for me, and for everyone else involved? 因此,下次当你被要求进行面部扫描时,不要盲目接受。不妨问问自己:这真的有必要吗?它带来的好处是否真的大过风险——不仅对我,也对所有相关的人都如此?【词汇】1. biometric adj. 生物识别的2. seamless adj. 无缝的;流畅的3. tout v. 兜售;吹捧4. breach n. 违反;破坏5. default n. 默认6. CCTV(Closed Circuit Television) 闭路电视7. permanence n. 永久性8. hypothetical adj. 假设的9. algorithm n. 算法10. rife adj. 普遍的11. scam n. 骗局12. robust adj. 强健的;稳固的13. outweigh v. 超过;比...更重要(本文图片来源于摄图网,版权归摄图网所有)